One Life to Live
by Earendil Eldar
Summary: Follow-up to "One Night Only." Jack has been romancing Ianto for some while since deciding to stay in Cardiff instead of going on with Rose and the Doctor. Now he's ready to take things to the next level (multi-part).
1. Chapter 1

"Hello, handsome," Jack grinned, pleased that he managed to catch Ianto the moment he turned around from locking up the tourist office behind him. Slipping his arms under Ianto's suit coat, Jack wrapped them around his waist as he pulled Ianto in for a long kiss.

"Hi," Ianto breathed when he finally had his tongue back. "To what do I owe the pleasure of a surprise after-work visit?"

"Just crazy about you," Jack grinned, keeping his arms tight around Ianto.

"Well… that should lead to shagging out in the open," Ianto smirked.

"Oh?" Jack said, eyes going wide.

"No. Don't get excited."

Jack rolled his eyes and pouted. "Get my hopes up only to dash them like that. You're a cruel man, Ianto Jones."

"You liked it last night," Ianto said under his breath.

Jack let out a breath and bit his lip. "You're right… I did. And _you_ liked it a few nights before that."

"Your point?" Ianto grinned.

"Well, you might have noticed my state of dress…."

"I did, in fact. Rather sharp, sir. Does this presage some… impromptu assignation?"

Jack grinned and swayed Ianto to a tune that only he heard. "Hmm. Dinner, dancing, wine, and romancing?"

"Maybe."

"That's the best you can do? Maybe?" Jack said, bumping his hips against Ianto's.

Ianto sighed. "Well… you didn't bring flowers…."

"It's winter on Argentona."

Ianto chuckled. "It's spring in Cardiff."

"I'll have a dozen sent tomorrow. No, _two_ dozen. Please? I hate eating alone," Jack said sadly.

"You're like a puppy, you. Alright… I suppose we'll go out."

Jack broke into a smile as though he almost hadn't expected Ianto's agreement. Ianto couldn't help smiling in response and kissing those lips. Being with Jack still made his heart flutter. How excited Jack got over such simple things made Ianto see things in a very different way too. Even something as simple as waking up together made Ianto feel like the luckiest guy in the universe.

"I was thinking of something special for tonight," Jack said softly.

"How special? Should I change?"

Jack shook his head. "Never. You couldn't be more perfect, Ianto."

Ianto blushed faintly. "Ok. Where are we going, then?"

"You up for taking a trip?" Jack asked, displaying his manipulator.

"Oh. Alright. How far?"

"London? About 60 years," Jack said.

"Back?"

"Yeah. I know what you're thinking… the Blitz. But I've got that covered. I know the safe places."

Ianto hesitated for a split-second. "Are they also safe places for two men who are obviously besotted with one another?"

"Of course," Jack promised, tightening his arms around Ianto's waist again. "I wouldn't take you any place that could get you hurt."

"I know you wouldn't," Ianto said, kissing Jack's lips. "I suppose I'm ready when you are, then."

"Good," Jack grinned, locking lips with Ianto as he pressed the button on his manipulator to transport them to 1940s London.

* * *

><p>"Cold," Ianto muttered, reluctantly leaving Jack's embrace as they rematerialized on a kerbside.<p>

"Yeah. Let's get inside," Jack said. "You ok? Need a second?"

"I'm fine. Getting used to this stuff," Ianto said, only just keeping himself from reaching for Jack's hand as they set off.

"Down this way," Jack said, turning down an alley. He stopped at a door in the alleyway and knocked.

When the door opened just a sliver, Ianto realized there was a nightclub tucked away inside as the sounds of music and laughter spilled out into the alley.

"Jackie-boy! Where have you been, we'd thought you'd been shot down or something."

"Who, me?" Jack grinned. "Not gonna happen, Tommy."

"Who's your mate?" Tommy asked with decided interest.

"Tommy Atkins, Ianto Jones. Ianto, this is Tommy. He looks sweet, but nobody gets in here without his say-so."

Tommy offered his hand to Ianto who took it.

"And this place is… friendly?" Ianto asked, wondering if that would mean the same thing in whatever year they were in.

"Of course. And I don't allow no fighting over anything inside. So come in, you two. It's cold out there. Not that I think for a minute you'll be cold standing next to him," he said throwing Ianto a wink as they headed down into the club. "And no 'anky-panky in the loo, either! Do it out in the open where we can all enjoy the show!"

Ianto took a deep breath and considered slugging Jack if he'd brought him to a sex club. Everyone inside appeared appropriately attired, though.

"Care for a drink?" Jack asked, close to Ianto's ear.

"G&T," Ianto said.

"I knew that," Jack smirked, heading to the bar.

"Jack! In civvies. And in one piece!"

"Hiya, Gav. Why does everybody always think I'm gonna get shot down? They never even see me coming," Jack grinned.

"Usual, Jack?"

"Yes, indeed. And a G&T, too."

"Oh? Tying one on?"

"Actually," Jack leaned in toward the bartender. "More like tying the knot. Fingers crossed he says yes!"

"Oh!" Gav said, crossing his fingers with a wink before quickly taking bottles and glasses from the back bar.

Jack reached his hand out to Ianto, who was still lingering where Jack left him.

"You're popular here," Ianto said as Jack curled an arm around him.

Jack shrugged. "Can't help that. The jawline."

Ianto rolled his eyes but grinned. "Yeah, I know all about it."

Jack leaned toward the bar for their drinks and passed one to Ianto. "Shall we take a table? I thought maybe we could start out here, just for drinks, head back out for dinner – I've got some ideas about that, too – then maybe come back for some dancing, if that sounds good to you."

Ianto nodded and followed as Jack lead him to a table near the dance floor.


	2. Chapter 2

**Pulled from deep in the archives and dusted off :)**

* * *

><p>"Where's dinner?" Ianto asked, as they headed out of the nightclub.<p>

"You'll see," Jack grinned. "Fair warning, they kinda know me around there, too."

Ianto smirked back, but wasn't sure if he quite enjoyed the joke. He knew Jack had quite a history, one he wasn't at all shy about discussing… ad nauseam. But Ianto was starting to wonder if this was some sort of reunion tour of erstwhile shags. It was strange to see a man from the 51st century looking more at home in the early 20th century.

Ianto reminded himself that no matter how many times Jack's gaze followed a nice figure down the block, he'd never given Ianto the slightest reason for jealousy.

"One of the little drawbacks is that there are restrictions these days, but it's a bit of give-and-take. Can't beat the ambience," Jack said. "And, anyway, like I said, we can head back to the club for dancing after. And then, uh… I thought we might get a room for the night."

"You will get me back in time for work tomorrow?"

Jack grinned and gestured to his wrist strap. "Scout's honour."

"Jack Harkness, a scout? I'll believe that!"

"Well, alright, Time Agent's honour, then. And if you believe _that_, I'm worried for you."

"I'd believe Jack's honour."

Jack smiled blindingly and had to check his impulse to wrap Ianto in a hug and snog him senseless there on the pavement. "Most would call you a fool for that, but they haven't known me this past year, either. "Thank you, Ianto Jones."

"You're a good man, Jack Harkness."

Jack blinked rapidly a few times and didn't say anything for a few moments. "So are you, Ianto Jones." Then he stopped suddenly. "Anyway, here we are."

Ianto's eyes went wide as he realized he and Jack had arrived at the Strand and were standing in front of the Savoy. He even nearly missed the fact that Jack had said hello to Lord Mountbatten and Winston Churchill as they were shown to their table in the Grille – _and_ had addressed them as Lou and Winnie, with a casual salute.

* * *

><p>After dinner, Jack and Ianto headed back to the club for nightcaps and dancing. Jack had initially been thinking of one snifter and maybe a couple turns around the floor, then beating it back to the adjoining rooms (well, one of them, anyway) he'd taken for the night at the Savoy. Once he got Ianto dancing, though, Jack didn't want to be any place else. He felt he could slow-dance with Ianto until the end of time.<p>

It was past midnight when the band took five. Jack and Ianto lingered on the dancefloor in one another's arms, cheek-to-cheek. "Care to head out?" Jack whispered.

"Ok," Ianto murmured back.

Together, they left the nightclub, all but oblivious to calls of "So long, Jackie," and "Don't take no Burtons, Cap'n!"

It wasn't exactly a mad dash back to the hotel, but they didn't waste any time either. Jack laughed as a barrage balloon that had got loose drifted along overhead toward the Thames. "That's how I met Rose and the Doctor," he commented nostalgically.

Had it really been more than a year…? Only, on the night that they were walking through London, there was another Jack Harkness in officers' quarters who hadn't yet spotted something in his binoculars that definitely didn't belong attached to a loose balloon.

Ianto, for his part, just tried not to think too much about it or to attempt following the circular timelines. It was much easier to simply accept that it was entirely possible (with an ex-Time Agent and/or Time Lord) to pop in and out of different points in time.

"I'll bet you were so handsome in your uniform," Ianto grinned, imagining Jack all turned-out in his RAF dress.

"Remind me to show you sometime," Jack smirked, taking out the key to their room.

The door was barely shut behind them before they were deep in snog, hands pulling at shirttails and belt buckles and hair.

"Ianto…," Jack breathed, pulling back just a fraction. "There's something we need to… I mean, I wanted to talk about something."

Ianto gave Jack a slightly apprehensive look. Unless they were about to discuss preferred types of lubricant, Ianto wasn't sure _talking_ was high on his list of immediate interests.

Jack reached up and framed Ianto's face tenderly, almost reverentially. "You changed my life, Ianto Jones. For so long, I've been running, always going somewhere, never stopping. But the day I met you… I just didn't want to be anywhere you weren't. Thing is… you know I've been around the local cluster a time or two. My history is…." Jack sighed.

"Jack, it doesn't matter," Ianto assured him quickly, stroking his back. "It's alright. I understand."

"Thank you. It does matter, though. You deserve to know the whole me. Even the things I want to forget. And the things I wish I _could_ remember."

Ianto knew Jack had nightmares. There had been quite a number of times that he'd held Jack tight, feeling his partner's heartrate slowly returning to normal after he'd woken with a terrified cry. Jack hadn't talked about much of it, but Ianto knew Jack had lost his family at an early age, and then his best friend in war, that he'd been through a lot as a 'Time Agent' and former con man. One thing that struck Ianto was just how little Jack felt really proud of in his past. Maybe it was why they connected as deeply as they had….

"Jack…," Ianto said carefully, taking Jack's hands in his. "I know it hasn't always been roses in your life. It hasn't in mine, either. You know that. But, listen… it's ok. Neither of us are our pasts. We're our present. Right here, now. Or… um, not necessarily now. I mean, now as in 'wherever or whenever.' Obviously not just in the middle of the Blitz."

Jack smiled warmly. "This is why I love you, Ianto. I do want you to know, though… I mean, some things…."

"I'm ok with learning about one another as we go," Ianto said. "It's been good so far, yeah? And there's not exactly a deadline… not for me, anyway."

"No, not for me, either. I just wanna make sure I'm planting my roots where they're wanted, you know? Building a home on a solid foundation. Because that's what I want. For the first time in my life, I want a _home_. You are the first person who's ever made me want that."

Jack had to check the blackout drapes were drawn. Ianto's smile would have been a beacon to the entire Luftwaffe. "C'mere," Jack whispered, pulling Ianto over to a bench in front of the bed. Jack sat for a moment, holding Ianto's hands tightly. He took a deep breath and straightened up, seeming to gather his courage. Then he shifted off the bench and knelt in front of Ianto.

"Will you marry me?" he asked simply, a bit breathless with nerves.


End file.
